1. Technical Field to Which the Invention Belongs
The present invention relates to an automatic color-tone test device capable of performing a color-tone test within a very short time for a measurement object dye liquor of any concentration over a very wide concentration range, and an automatic controlling system for dye liquor with a high accuracy, which has the automatic color-tone test device.
2. Related Art
In a field of dyeing textile products, in order to cope with a diversity in their designs, it is demanded to adjust a dye liquor with a high accuracy over a very wide concentration range from a low concentration to a high concentration and feed it to each feed tank. And, hitherto it has been performed by a so-called batch system in which powder dyes are precisely weighed, plural kinds of such dyes are dissolved into mixed states, and dye liquors each of which has been adjusted to a desired concentration are filled in each feed tank. However, with such a batch system, the more increases the number of variations in kinds and concentrations of the adjustment dye liquors in a multiple color dyeing the longer time is required for these controlling works, so that there has been a desired problem that a time required for the controlling works of the dye liquor should be reduced from an aspect of production efficiency.
Therefore, it has been desired to hastily develop an automatic controlling system for dye liquor, and as flow rate control means for making it possible to construct such an automatic controlling system that can adjust plural kinds of dye liquors with a high accuracy over a very wide concentration range from a low concentration to a high concentration and can feed them to each feed tank, the present applicant has previously proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-161553 a flow rate control device comprising a main conduit having at its one end a suction port for taking in a fluid (dye mother liquor) and at its the other end a discharge port for the fluid, a pump provided in the main conduit and having a predetermined discharge flow rate range, a bypass conduit branched from a position of more discharge port side than the pump in the main conduit and reaching the discharge port, and flow meter and regulation valve which are provided in the bypass conduit, wherein a control flow rate range of the regulation valve contains a flow rate range of lower flow rate side than a predetermined discharge flow rate range of the pump and an opening adjustment of the regulation valve is performed on the basis of a measured value detected by the flow meter.
This flow rate control device can variably control the flow rate with a high accuracy over a wide flow rate range from a small flow rate to a large flow rate, so that if the flow rate control device having this constitution is incorporated into a feed line of each dye mother liquor, it is possible to discharge the dye mother liquor into a feed tube fed with water of constant flow rate while controlling it with a high accuracy over a wide flow rate range from a small flow rate to a large flow rate and, as a result, it becomes possible to adjust the dye liquor with a high accuracy over a very wide concentration range from a low concentration to a high concentration by using a single dye mother liquor, and to feed it.
As to the dye liquor thus controlled, it is necessary to check whether or not its concentration and hue agree with desired values, i.e. it is necessary to perform a color-tone test. In case where the controlling of the dye liquor by the above-mentioned conventional batch system, before the controlled dye liquor is filled in the feed tank, an absorbance of the controlling dye liquor is measured using a spectrophotometer and the color-tone test is performed using a known method called LCM (liquid color matching). And, in case where the controlling dye liquor has a high concentration, there has been adopted such a color-tone test method that the high concentration controlling dye liquor is diluted by water with a high accuracy such that it falls within a measurement range ability (generally, 0.001-0.05 g/L) of the spectrophotometer, i.e. such that it falls within a measurable concentration range, and an absorbance of the original controlling dye liquor is computed by measuring an absorbance of the dilution dye liquor.
By the way, since such an automatic controlling system as mentioned above is an on-line system in which the dye liquor is continuously fed from the dye mother liquor tank to the feed tank, it is desirable that the color-tone test of the controlling dye liquor is performed within a very short time (for example, in the order of several seconds) in compliance with the on-line system. That is, it is desirable that the color-tone test of the controlling dye liquor is performed within a very short time, results thereof is fed back and a fine adjustment of the controlling operation is executed as occasion demands.
However, if the color-tone test method similar to the prior art is adopted, this color-tone test requires about 5-6 minutes in case where the controlling dye liquor has an especially high concentration and a dilution operation is required. Since a long time is required in this manner, there has been no one which can become color-tone test means suitable for the automatic controlling system that is an on-line system. In other words, conventional color-tone test means could not so to speak continuously perform the color-tone test for the controlling dye liquor continuously being fed.
The invention was made in view of such a technical background, and objects of the invention are to provide an automatic color-tone test device capable of performing a color-tone test within a very short time for controlling dye liquor of any concentration over a very wide concentration range from a low concentration to a high concentration, and an automatic controlling system for dye liquor with a high accuracy, in which the automatic color-tone test device is used.
In order to achieve the above objects, as a result of intensive studies, the inventors found the fact that the above desired automatic color-tone test device can be obtained by adopting a constitution that makes it possible to introduce a controlling dye liquor that is a measurement object into a measurement cell in on-line through a tube and makes it possible to variably set a light transmission distance in the measurement cell in compliance with a concentration level of the controlling dye liquor that is a measurement object, and completed the invention.
That is, an automatic color-tone test device of the invention comprises: a spectrophotometer in which a dye liquor introduction tube for introducing a controlling dye liquor, that is a measurement object, into a measurement cell is communication-connected to the measurement cell, while a dye liquor discharge tube for discharging the dye liquor after having passed through the measurement cell is communication-connected to the measurement cell, and which is adapted such that a light transmission distance in the measurement cell can be variably set in compliance with a concentration level of the controlling dye liquor that is a measurement object; and a statistical test computer section for operation-judging whether or not the dye liquor""s concentration and hue measured by the spectrophotometer agree with desired values.
Since it is adapted such that a light transmission distance in the measurement cell can be variably set in compliance with a concentration level of the controlling dye liquor that is a measurement object, in case where the concentration level of the controlling dye liquor is low for instance, the light transmission distance can be set large so as to fall within a measurement range ability of the spectrophotometer, and further in case where the concentration level of the controlling dye liquor is high, the light transmission distance can be set small so as to fall within a measurement range ability of the spectrophotometer, so that it is possible to perform the color-tone test within a very short time for controlling dye liquor of any concentration over a very wide concentration range from a low concentration to a high concentration. In comparison with a conventional system in which, in case where the dye liquor has a high concentration, a preliminary dilution process is required, a reduction in time required for the color-tone test is very remarkable, so that it is suitable as the color-tone test device in an automatic controlling system for dye liquor.
It is preferable that, in the automatic color-tone test device, an internal space of the measurement cell is divided into plural liquid-tight independent spaces mutually different in light transmission distance, and the dye liquor introduction tube and the dye liquor discharge tube are respectively communication-connected to each liquid-tight independent space, and it is so adapted that the controlling dye liquor is selectively fed to any one of the independent spaces in compliance with a concentration level of the controlling dye liquor that is a measurement object.
By the fact that it is so adapted that the controlling dye liquor is selectively fed to any one of the independent spaces in compliance with a concentration level of the controlling dye liquor that is a measurement object, it follows that the light transmission distance in the measurement cell is variably set in compliance with the concentration level of the controlling dye liquor and the light transmission distance in each independent space is non-variable and fixed, so that the light transmission distance at a time of measurement is maintained to a high accuracy even in case where any independent space is selected. For example, with such a constitution that an interval between opposed side walls of the measurement cell is variably controlled, it is difficult to control the light transmission distance with a high accuracy.
Further, an automatic controlling system for dye liquor of the invention comprises: an automatic controlling device having one or plural dye liquor tank(s) filled with dye liquor, a water tank filled with water, a mixer for mixing the liquor fed from each of the tanks, and one or plural flow rate control device(s) for controlling a flow rate of the liquor fed into the mixer from each of the tanks; an automatic color-tone test device set forth; and a control computer section which performs a component analysis on the basis of operation judgment results of the statistical test computer section of the automatic color-tone test device, and which is adapted so as to control the flow rate control device on the basis of the analysis results; wherein at least a part of the controlling dye liquor fed through the mixer of the automatic controlling device is introduced into the dye liquor introduction tube of the automatic color-tone test device.
Since the color-tone test is performed using the automatic color-tone test device of the above constitution, it is possible to perform the color-tone test within a very short time for controlling dye liquor of any concentration over a very wide concentration range from a low concentration to a high concentration, so that it is possible to perform a fine adjustment of the flow rate within a very short time by feeding back the test results and, therefore, it is possible to control the dye liquor with a high accuracy over a very wide concentration range.
Other objects and characteristics will become clear from the detailed description of the invention mentioned later together with the attached drawings.